Description
The Federal Housing Finance Agency hereby announces its intent to enter in to a sole source contract with Mary Bilinski, Palm Coast, FL, in accordance with 41 U.S.C. 1901(e)(2), FAR 13.501(a), for the acquisition of a survey support contractor with specialized expertise in mortgage finance survey design to provide mortgage finance survey services for the implementation of the quarterly National Survey of Mortgage Originations (NSMO) and the annual American Survey of Mortgage Borrowers (ASMB). FHFA requires the services of a mortgage finance expert with subject matter expertise in mortgage finance survey design to assist the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) in the implementation of the quarterly NSMO and the ASMB conducted at least every two years. The NSMO and the ASMB and associated services are part of the National Mortgage Database (NMDB®) Program, a joint effort of FHFA and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The survey specialist will provide expertise in questionnaire design and testing and assist FHFA and CFPB by coordinating with third parties to ensure the quarterly and annual surveys stay on plan, within the agreed upon timelines, and according to project specifications. FHFA requires that the NMSO and ASMB survey specialist possess experience in survey implementation under the constraints of the Fair Credit Report Act (FCRA). Additionally, the survey specialist shall coordinate exchanges of data between credit bureau and survey fulfillment contractors subject to the constraints of the FCRA, to ensure that personally identifiable information is not divulged, and the survey mailing is executed on time and according to project specifications. The FHFA/CFPB NMDB® is directly modeled on the Freddie Mac prototype questionnaire that Ms. Bilinski developed for Freddie Mac. Ms. Bilinski is uniquely qualified to perform these same functions for FHFA. She has previously managed complex survey projects, and in the case of the Freddie Mac surveys, her expertise and efforts have contributed directly to Freddie Mac achieving an unusually high 60 percent response rate to a mail survey. Under her current contract with FHFA, Ms. Bilinski, from September 26, 2019 through September 25, 2024 coordinated exchanges of information between FHFA and Experian and Westat to facilitate the NSMO and the ASMB. Quarterly, Ms. Bilinski provides FHFA with a survey response report. She also has provided her expertise in survey design for ASMB and NSMO on an ongoing basis. She has assisted in the management of these complex survey projects since 2013 for FHFA, and her expertise and efforts have contributed directly to FHFA achieving unusually high response rates to mail surveys in the past. Each of these surveys required special handling to comply with FCRA and Privacy Act requirements. This experience is critical to possessing the expertise required to assist FHFA with the NMDB® efforts. Ms. Bilinski is uniquely qualified to continue to perform the same functions and duties for FHFA. In accordance with FAR 5.207(c)(16)(ii), vendors that feel they can meet the Government's requirement detailed below may submit a capability statement which shall be considered by the agency. A determination by the Government not to open the requirement to competition based on responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. 1. Contractor must possess demonstrated, current subject matter expertise in mortgage finance. 2. Contractor must possess demonstrated, current subject matter expertise in mortgage borrower survey and questionnaire design. 3. Contractor must possess experience in survey implementation under the constraints of the Fair Credit Report Act (FCRA). 4. Contractor must possess demonstrated ability to manage complex survey projects including coordinating with third party entities (to include credit repositories and marketing research firms) and government agencies in addition to possessing the necessary subject matter expertise in mortgage finance. 5. Contractor must possess demonstrated experience in coordinating exchanges of data between credit bureau and survey fulfillment contractors subject to the constraints of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, to ensure that personally identifiable information (PII) is not divulged, and the survey mailing is executed on time and according to project specifications. 6. Contractor must possess recent working knowledge of the design, execution, and analysis of Freddie Mac national mortgage borrower surveys, to include coordinating exchanges of data between Freddie Mac and private companies such as Experian or Westat, in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Privacy Act requirements. A Purchase Order will be awarded on a labor hour basis with a maximum of 410 hours per year. The Government anticipates a one-year base year, with four one-year option years, and the option to extend up to an additional six months per FAR 52.217-8. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 541910, Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling. The small business size standard is $22.5M. The Government intends to conduct the procurement on a sole source basis using Simplified Acquisition Procedures in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12, Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services and FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures. This is not a solicitation for competitive response. A solicitation is not available. Written expressions of interest with detailed capability and qualifications statement demonstrating the required experience and expertise will be considered by FHFA if submitted to the Contracting Officer not later than July 1, 2024, at 4:00pm Eastern Time.